Police officers securing Donald Trump’s visit to the UK are being forced to sleep in unacceptable conditions worse than cells, it has been claimed.

The Police Federation, the organisation representing rankand-file officers, say officers are having to sleep on camp beds filling the Corporal Budd Gymnasium, in Colchester, and on sleeping mats on the floor of a squash court.

Simon Kempton, the organisation’s deputy treasurer in England and Wales, said 300 officers are expected to sleep in the gymnasium with no hot water and restricted access to warm food.

He said: “These officers have been asked to leave their families to travel to another part of the country to help protect the public and the president and all they expect in return is to be treated with some dignity and respect.

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“What’s clear is that anyone overnight who has been arrested by the police would be put in accommodation far superior to what the officers are staying in.”

He said officers at that gym are only averaging three to four hours’ sleep ahead of long shifts.

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said the conditions some of his officers have been “forced to endure” are an “absolute disgrace”.

He said: “No officer should be made to sleep on a camp bed, inches from the floor, in a sports hall with scores of colleagues only metres apart after a 12-hour shift.

A National Police Chiefs’ Council spokeswoman said Essex Police was working “at speed” to resolve the issue.

“Some of the accommodation for officers supporting the major operation for the US presidential visit is not acceptable and below the standard of other accommodation for this operation,” she added.

Assistant Chief Constable Pippa Mills said:”We worked with local military colleagues to provide accommodation to a significant number of officers travelling from other parts of the country to support our policing requirements.

“Security, welfare and wellbeing of those officers has been paramount at all times. As soon as we became aware of issues surrounding some of the accommodation actions were taken to rectify them.

"The conditions which I have been made aware of are not acceptable.

"Working with our military partners we have found alternative accommodation.”